Archive for September, 2009

It’s hard to believe, but we are still seeing cases of bad cosmetic surgery abroad, with many practitioners still failing to inform their patients of the risks and potential complications involved in plastic surgery.

The lure of a cheap alternative to Harley Street can make cosmetic surgery tourism tempting, however following the hundreds of horror stories that we all read in magazines and newspapers, it’s surprising just how many people still opt for procedures on foreign territory, just to save a few pounds.

We believe that a person’s health and wellbeing should be the most important factor. Making changes to your face and body is not a decision to take lightly, which is why it’s important to weigh up the benefits against the risk and potential complications that could arise.

Having surgery abroad could turn out to be the right option for you, as there are many reputable surgeons out there – just like here in the UK – you just have to find the right one for you. A good practitioner will always inform you of any risks, explain procedures, answer all your questions and will ensure that you are 100% happy to proceed. Make sure you meet the actual surgeon who will be carrying out the treatment too.

Cosmetic surgery is not for everyone, and there are non-invasive skin treatments available to save you from having to opt for painful face-lifts and risky liposuction.

Safer, cheaper and very effective, fat reductionand anti-ageing treatmentsthat don’t involve any knives or scarring are becoming increasingly popular. You can never stop the clock or wave a magic wand to get rid of fat instantly, but IPL, mesotherapy and other non-surgical alternatives can discreetly change your appearance and make you happier.

We were pleased to read this morning that Grazia’s beauty director, Annabel Jones, supports non-surgical cosmetic skin treatments over going under the knife in a bid to look younger.

The Guardian questioned whether cosmetic surgery could ever be a viable solution to ageing. Jones commented that she believed you could wind back the years by taking care of your skin, investing in a new haircut and applying good make-up.

And we agree! Non-surgical skin treatments are non-invasive, so don’t leave you with scars or the need to recover from surgical procedures. Usually after non-surgical anti-ageing treatment, you can resume your normal day-to-day activities and no one needs to know that you have been for treatments.

It’s only when people start to realise and remark that, ‘my you’re looking well’, that they may suspect that you have a new beauty regime.

Janice is one lucky woman who is delighted with the results from her SkinGym skin rejuvenation treatments. See what she has to say here:

We’ve noticed a significant number of articles this week highlighting the growing trend of teachers having cosmetic surgery during their summer break – with one British company claiming it has seen a 50% increase and that facial procedures are proving most popular amongst our nation’s educators.

It’s not many professions that can afford the luxury of weeks of work to recover from cosmetic surgery. Yet even with the time they have to spare wouldn’t it be best spent relaxing or spending more time with their families rather than recovering from invasive surgery that means they can’t go out and about and enjoy themselves?

We recommend as with all other professions in the UK the best and safest option for teachers to look good and feel better about their appearance is to take a slower more natural approach that will allow them to see progressive results and not upset their long awaited summer holidays! With regular skin rejuvenation sessions a cocktail on the beach is far more likely than sitting on the sofa with a cuppa recovering…

Peter predicts that as consumers become ever more savvy by the day, we will soon see a sharp decline in the number of people opting for ineffective creams from the highstreet, in favour of in-clinic specialist skin treatments.

The words on everyone’s lips in the cosmetic surgery world is that ‘natural’ boob jobs are on the rise, where surgeons use the excess fat from your thighs, bum and tum and inject it into your boobs to give them a lift.

How simple!

Of course, as with anything else, there are always risks and this is no exception. It’s also a procedure that is still in its infancy, so think twice before you rush down to Harley Street and do your research. Ask questions, get second opinions and think carefully before you take the plunge.

An expert on GMTV this morning was echoing the same concerns, whilst also remarking that this new kind of breast augmentation could give you a more natural look than artificial implants. So it’s something to keep your eye on for the future if you fancy getting a smaller waist AND bigger boobs!

In the meantime, if you would like to lose a few inches here and there, it might be worth taking a look at the fat reduction treatments that are available – all tried and tested already, therefore perfectly safe.

The popularity of non-invasive wrinkle treatments, such as dermal fillers and Botox, has more than doubled to over 470,000, as we urge people to recognise the risks of facial treatments.

Anti-ageing treatments will always be popular with the ageing woman, but we share the views of the BAAPS (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons), whereby we think it’s important to highlight any risks involved and think that regulation of this field should more tightly regulated.

Botox parties, nail technicians, and your average beauty salon – in fact anyone who has been on a weekend course can become Botox-trained, which in our opinion can be very dangerous and risky. All our clinics are Care Quality Commission registered, and use reputable practitioners and we urge people to go to a reputable clinic or medi-spa like SkinGenesis when thinking about having facial anti-ageing treatments.

Dermal fillers are becoming as popular as Botox too, but what people often don’t realise is that there are two kinds – permanent and non-permanent. Permanent means permanent, so once the fillers are in place they will stay there. This can become a problem as you continue to age, as the face continues to move south while the filler stays in place, resulting in a quite a distorted look a few years down the line.

We offer non-permanent dermal fillers that wear off with time and require a top up. These are much more suited to most people as they work with the face as it continues to age.

Remember, you can’t stop the ageing process but you can delay it. Just make sure you do it safely!

It seems that Botox injections are not favoured by all celebrities after actor Colin Firth expressed concern over the ability to act if your face becomes frozen.

He likened it to the act of making sure the strings of a violin don’t vibrate and said that by paralysing the muscles in the face, you were essentially preventing yourself from being able to act… too bad if you’re an ACTor!

However most people who have Botox do so to smooth out deep set wrinkles, as well as unwanted fine lines. The intention of having Botox is not to rid yourself of any expression whatsoever, rather it is to reclaim your youth and enjoy a smooth face – there’s no harm in that surely?

Of course Firth did admit that he’s not against cosmetic surgery and other skin rejuvenation treatmentscompletely, and said that if he found something that worked and looked good, he would definitely try it.

Maybe we should get on the phone to his agent and let him know about SkinGym and the SkinSpa menu?!

One minute we’re getting told off because we eat too much, then the next thing you know, we’re being told that we need to eat more because apparently the larger our thighs, the less chance we have of heart disease. We can’t win!

Latest research has shown that bigger thighs reduce the risk of developing diabetes and heart disease, so if you were thinking of having fat reduction treatments to comply with recent obesity advice, you may want to leave out your thighs!

Advice needs to be more consistent and clear. I don’t think the advice here is to eat more to bulk up our legs – we don’t want to be accused of being a nation of greedy people now do we?

We would advise what we have always recommended – plenty of exercise, a healthy balanced diet and if needed, a few treatments of mesotherapy to get rid of excess fat.

And if you do want to be extra cautious and protect against heart disease, try building up the muscles in your thighs to increase the circumference, instead of increasing the fat. The place to measure is just below the gluteal fold (the crease below your bottom and at the top of the thigh) which should, apparently, be 60cm or more.

We say, just stay healthy and we’re sure you’ll be fine, big thighs or not!

Those who enjoy a daily Starbucks, lunchtime Coke and an afternoon smoothie, then a beer after work may want to think again if they’re trying to keep their figure.

Office workers especially like to indulge in tasty drinks and snacks when they’re sat at their desk, but i think you would be shocked by how many calories there are in some of the nation’s favourite drinks.

An international survey has revealed that teenage girls are having more boozey binges than ever before, which not only means they are risking their health, but also their appearance.

In fact for anyone who drinks alcohol regularly, especially lots of it, they are unfortunately drinking their good looks away prematurely too, as alcohol wreaks havoc on the skin. Just to name a few problems:

Dry, flaky skin – due to excessive dehydration… not a good look

More likely to bruise – due to lack of vitamin C

Increased likelyhood of psoriasis – red blemishes with silvery flakes

I could go on. We’ve developed an Expert Skin Analysiswhich basically assesses your skin, tells you what state it’s in and then the therapist can advise on the next best steps to take to rectify any skin damage.